Skip to main content

39th game back on the agenda

The Premier League meest face-to-face again at the Landmark Hotel in London’s Marylebone last week, and the continuing growth of the competition was a particular area of focus.

The US, China, India, Brazil and Indonesia have been identified as markets in which the Premier League could appeal to new fans and an enhanced pre-season tournament next summer in the States has been discussed as an initial step.

Longer term, however, one of the key aspects in the League’s attempts to gain greater global appeal is playing competitive matches on foreign soil. A possible “roadmap for meaningful matches abroad” was mentioned last week, after “taking Premier League matches to the world” was discussed at June’s AGM.

It would take several years for a top-flight match outside of England to come to fruition but it is interesting that the idea could be on the table following the collapse of the European Super League, more than a decade after former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore first floated the idea of the “39th game”.

In 2008, the Premier League looked at playing an extra round of matches abroad at five different venues, with clubs set to earn around £5 million per game.

UEFA, FIFA and the FA all opposed the idea and it was scrapped but Scudamore remained supportive, saying in August 2014: “It will happen at some point.”   In the meantime, some kind of special pre-season competition seems more likely.

If it did it would be a further step in the globalisation of football as argued in my recent book Political Football.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow
Post a Comment
Read more

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a Comment
Read more

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/
Post a Comment
Read more